The Banksia Initiative

The Banksia Initiative is an informal cross disciplinary alliance of researchers, educators and artists providing information, strategies and resources to support classroom teachers and communities in recovery from disasters.

The Initiative was formed in January 2020 from a shared understanding of the international evidence confirming the vital role schools play in individual, community and national recovery from disaster.

The Initiative includes specialists in school recovery, general education, curriculum and pedagogy, arts education, health and wellbeing, trauma response, disaster recovery and youth and adolescent health.

A steering group from Central Queensland University, the Universities of Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, the National Advocates for Arts Education(NAAE) and UNESCO NZ sub commission has developed and / or curated these resources to provide Australian teachers with trusted, research-informed and practical advice to support their return to school in 2020.

Read the newsletter here